The FBI and Justice Department recently stopped a hacker gang that was supported by the North Korean government from targeting American hospitals with ransomware, recovering half a million dollars in ransom payments, according to Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco on Tuesday.
In a speech where she urged businesses affected by ransomware to notify law enforcement so that they can conduct an investigation and assist victim enterprises in their efforts to recover ransom payments, Monaco released new information about the attacks.
In this instance, according to Monaco, a Kansas hospital that paid a ransom after experiencing ransomware last year also informed the FBI, which tracked the payment and located money launderers operating out of China who helped the North Korean hackers cash out the illegal earnings. Including the whole ransom money from the hospital, the FBI eventually succeeded in recovering half a million dollars.
In 2021, U.S. authorities struggled to deal with a spate of high-profile ransomware assaults, including one targeting an important petroleum pipeline on the East Coast. In these attacks, hackers encrypt or lock up a victim’s data and demand exorbitant sums to release it. Even though the frequency of such widespread, front-page attacks appears to have decreased, smaller targets, like hospitals, are still being hit.
Hospitals and public health organisations across the nation were specifically targeted by this ransomware version, known as “Maui.”
She claimed that businesses frequently inquire about the benefits of working with law enforcement and why they should do so.
Monaco said in a speech at Fordham Law School, “The answer is that if you disclose the attack, if you report the ransom demand and payment, if you engage with the FBI, we can take action.” We can trace the money and recover it, help stop the next attack and the next victim, and punish fraudsters responsible.
Election security was to be discussed later on Tuesday by FBI Director Christopher Wray and Gen. Paul Nakasone, commander of the National Security Agency and U.S. Cyber Command.
